State Sen. Claudia Kauffman, D-Kent, reaffirmed her commitment to protecting Native communities in response to a recent social media post by right-wing conservative pundit Ann Coulter that said, “We didn’t kill enough Indians.”
Kauffman, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and the Senate Democrats’ Leadership Liaison to Tribal Nations, released a statement Monday, July 21 in a 47th Legislative District press release. The district covers parts of Kent and Auburn and all of Covington.
“Here in Washington, we’ve taken meaningful steps to push back on hate and protect communities at risk,” Kauffman said. “We strengthened our hate crime law to ensure crimes motivated by bias are recognized even when multiple motives are involved.
“We created a statewide hotline so anyone can report hate crimes or bias incidents and get connected to support. We have invested in stronger coordination between Tribal and state justice systems and continued to fund the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force to address the violence that disproportionately affects Native women and families. We also teach Tribal history in our schools, because that truth should never be forgotten.
“That’s what makes Ann Coulter’s statement so dangerous and so completely out of step with our laws and our values. This is more than an offensive comment; it is a painful reminder of the violence Native people have endured and survived for generations. Words like these are rooted in a history of forced removal, broken treaties, and attempted cultural erasure.”
Coulter posted the comment earlier this month on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a video clip of Diné College professor Melanie Yazzie advocating for tribal sovereignty, according to Nativenewsonline.net, which reported the post was viewed over 10 million times before it was deleted. Diné is a public tribal land-grant college based in Tsaile, Arizona.
“I am a member of the Nez Perce Tribe,” Kauffman said. “I carry the stories and resilience of my ancestors with me every day — into my work, my community, and the Washington state Senate. To see someone use a platform to casually invoke the idea of genocide is not only deeply hurtful but dangerous.
“Language like this can’t be brushed aside. It fuels the kind of thinking that allows hate to spread and reinforces the idea that Native lives are expendable.”
Kauffman defeated Kent Republican Bill Boyce, a member of the Kent City Council, in the November 2022 election for a four-year term that expires in 2026. She replaced Democrat Mona Das.
“Native people are still here,” Kauffman said. “We are sovereign. We are resilient. We are raising families, leading governments, protecting cultures, and shaping the future in Washington state and beyond. I will not let statements like this go unanswered, because our communities deserve to live free from hate, and with the respect every person must be afforded.
“I will continue my work in the Legislature to advance policies that protect Tribal communities, confront hate in all its forms, and ensure Native voices are heard at every level of government.”
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